Made and prepared by

Nimra Ilyas

And then the World Changed

The title indicates the transformation of something.

Setting of the story;

Old Karachi, Narrow Street, Sewerage line, Bazar, Metropolitan.

The setting of the story is old Karachi before partition, when different cultural people lived
together. In the story, we see Parsi, Jutes, Hindus and Muslims. The writer drew the sketch of
Karachi at that time how the narrow streets there were fully crowded, opened Sewerage lines,
and the shops(Bazar), with a very positive environment.

PLOT
The plot of the story is linear. Proper starting, middle and ending point no complexity.
Everything just seems like it's going on naturally.

Important characters;
Munna

Munna Every character has something in the story. It is some kind of attachment to the idea.
Munna who is an innocent child. Writers haven’t described any physical features of Munna,
because she wants the reader to create imaginative qualities of character, and the name Munna
gave our mind the imaginative hint on how that character is. We see a great change in the
character personality, in the starting, the character is all positive and in the end, the character
decides to hate Luxmi. The innocence of Munna shows when he says to Muneera America is a
person who stole our gutter lids in the night. Then we see Munna running in the house loudly
saying mamu is here, he has got the typical child of innocence. We see all the vulnerabilities, he
is a child and he is vulnerable. The point of the story is that we have a lot of Munna, Munna is
not one character, Munna is the representation of neutral, he is the representation of all the
Munna and children in Pakistan who are vulnerable, who are innocent, who don’t know much,
who think that America is a person, who thinks that Muneera is very smart and he thinks that she
should go to school, who think sitting in his Uncles car is something prestigious, all the children
are vulnerable and how we are destroying them. We destroy them by giving straight views, we
are taken away by their choice. We have a lot of Munna in our society and we did what we just
changed them. We make them hate. Munna was living peacefully with everybody, Jutes, Parsi,
Hindus, everyone and then came the government pollution. The media thing in the form of radio
came into the society and start polluting everybody mind, and this is how Munna innocence
change into hatred, sitting with men, sitting with that radio, sitting with that outward perspective,
sitting with that topic news which on the radio every time this brings totally change into his
personality. All the children are not born with this misogynistic idea, they are not born with
racism in their mind, we teach them that, we change them, and then the world changes. At the
end of the story, we have line He Has to Hate

Uncle Bobby

The name also indicates the western culture, cause to bring the change in society. The negative
change. He hasn't changed at all, from starting till the end of the story all the styles are the same
but he totally changed the social atmosphere, people’s behaviour and everything. This is what
Sabeen wants to highlight: how the west is dominant on us and how it wants to control us, they
just have to make a little effort and us people are totally influenced by them. Even though we are
now living in a separate state but still are bound on their commands on their luxuries. We didn’t
want to rise, except blaming all the time.

Luxmi

Representation of all Hindu communities, who came with a thali of Aarti which is again the
representation of Hindu community. There is no dialogue of her with anyone and when there is
no any dialogue of the character it means the character is oppressed. Here Sabeen points out that
these people with minorities do not have any right to speak. Their decision only is taken by the
Government who they have to act, how they have to do it. Luxmi who did not do anything, not
speak, even not doing anything but still Munna started to hate her because of the radio. The
people in the story Like Parsi, Jutes, Hindus they are not doing anything, no speaking was there,
neither they decide to hate each other, this all be done by the government, they provoke the
people that you are different from each other, that you have to hate each other. In the Muslims
community, Muslims decide about the minorities’ action, same as in Hindu community they
decide about the Muslims. Because the party of majority decides what to do with the others and
this is also the story they are telling. The minorities are always oppressed because they have no
power, no voice, and no appearance.

1. Muneera… 10 years old girl

SUMMARY;
The story starts entering a car Chevy in the street of old Karachi and then we see a lot of
Pakistani behaviour goes around the car, full of curiosity, children are running after it, shouting
about it, want to touch it, and start giving directions….and some people are criticizing and
moulding to bring the western things into the town, and from the driver, it bumps into something
and then he says it is the best stop. When Munna saw the car he ran toward home shouting uncle
bobby had arrived and so much excited to see a new car. Muneera, who lives in his neighbour
but spend most of his time Munna always tease her, Then Ammi came out, and Lakshmi mother
came out with a Thali of Pooja to ward off the evil eye from the car. All the citizen came and
seeing the novelty that came into their neighbourhood. Now everybody wants a ride in it all of
them to want to go to the beach, but the car lost its engine and never start again. Bit still the
people worshipping it, they all came around to it and listen to the BBC news from the car radio.
Women go into the daylight, cover the car windows with their dupattas and listen to the songs,
while the men gather around at night at 9 p.m. and Bobby uncle sets the radio to world service
and listens to the BBC news. Uncle Bobby who is like the superhero to the men community, turn
the news on and discuss it with other people. The radio brought a drastic change in people's lives.
In the early time Like Luxmi husband closed his shop before the time, Parsi uncle along with his
chair came because he didn’t like to stand. Munna also came with his father and sat on his
uncle's lap and listened to the radio. This announcement was something pleasant to him, and then
radio started its work, it started changing the pleasantry environment into the negative one. The
news was all about the blaming of Hindus, and west was behind all the evils in their
neighbourhood. It started a gap between the people, the minorities one is now afraid of the
Muslims community. Conflicts start going on between the people, intolerance starts rising,
Luxmi now no longer goes to Munna house because of the blaming news, people stop going to
the news session at night, hatred starts to grow now. The radio spread the distance between them,
although they are living together without harming each other the influence that radio did allow
them And then the World Changed to hate or keep distance with each other. The radio spread the
disease and now people start dividing into groups, they are now proudly making their different
identities, like Mohajir, Sindhis, Mashies, etc. Munna who is a little child was not able to
understand all this. He was so confused to choose whom to hate or whom to love. He did not
understand all the scenarios, but still, he has to hate the other people who are different from him
because his elders are doing so, he has to blame them, and keep away from them because his
elders are doing that! But still, he missed his old Mohalla where difference did not mean
distance.

Literary context of the story;

The literary context of the story is the people with multicultural are living together without any
restrictions and hatred. All the people in the colony care for each other, share the problems,
whether they are Hindus, Parsi, Jutes, or Muslims. Everyone is living without any worries and
problems. Different religious people, different cultural people are living together before the
toxicity. Sabeen pointed out this toxicity brought by the Government. The government who plays
the major role in dividing the people, and putting the otherness concept into their mind.

Uncle bobby;

Then one day when Uncle Bobby came into the town in his new luxury Chevy car. Bobby whom
Sabeen Javari presents him in the story as bringing the change into the society. Bobby who is
representing the west culture, whom all the people admire or want to take the full advantage of,
or want to fascinate with that, but still they blame the west because it is the only one who brings
evilness between them. On the political ground both Hindu and Muslims ready to criticize it, but
in the regular life they want to live with the luxuries that the west have.

The Chevy car

The car which is bring by uncle bobby into the society, is the sign of otherness , it came and
within it the Radio came and then the voices came, those voices we can also relate the voices of
our mind which continuously tell us to kill, kill, kill the conflict going on whether to go this or
that side. From that car or from that radio people start dividing who are living without any
problems with each other, now they started to hate each other, now they think as enemies.

● The Car came and it stopped working properly, everybody loves it even though it’s not
working. This is again a symbol … We love the west and hate it, it doesn’t work properly
but you still want it. People are very much attracted to the western culture, and love to
copy them, all the luxuries fascinate us and try to adopt them but still, it is composed in
our mind to hate them by the government because they are different from us in every
aspect, cultural, religious lifestyle in all that. By adopting their culture we haven’t any
issues, we do it all the things with love but on the political ground our hatred came out
and we try to give full hatred towards them.
● Radio is a metaphor here Sabeen didn’t use direct language to criticize the government,
that government doing it she uses the word radio because the media is again a very
powerful source. Media is always controlled, like China, in how it controls every citizen.
This radio is like the Government propaganda to control the people. It is the hypocrisy
that the government did with the people. They make the borderlines and order the people
that same people live in the same community, they bring racism, they bring hatred
between the people, they determine the people that you are different and you have to live
separately. This government and media thing change the peaceful world into negativity
 THEMES
OTHERNESS;

The story is talking about the idea of otherness. We Muslims, those Hindus, those Parsi, those
Jutes are telling us how the society is divided because of this propaganda, how it talks about the
otherness, how otherness spread in the society. The love-hate relationship going on. In the story
there are people who love the west, they love the car which is western, they love the style of
uncle bobby, and they love the radio which is again an invention of west. They love whatever
technology they can salvage. Some of them love it because they are still psychologically
subjugated to this western ideology that the west is superior. Again the concept of otherness is
there. They are accepting this thing only be valid till you believe you are different, this idea is
propagated when you believe that you are different and this is again the different idea we see the
otherness is going on by this Radio by this Hindu Muslim clashes, by America and west and
Muslim clash. We keep seeing the idea of otherness being propagated by the Government by the
political problems, by this elite class which does not want us to be together. This otherness is
going on. This theme can be cultural dominance or religious themes can be tracked to various
things. One thing we see is the Love-hate relationship. In the story, some people loving the west
or some people hate it (the people who are saying that the west people take our lid off, America
is responsible for that. Every problem they are responsible for, creating this idea of otherness
“They and Us' ' and then Hindu because they wear “Bindi’ they are different because they wear
it, that’s why they are they and we are us. We are Muslims they are Hindu. On the radio, the
news is going on again and again that Indians and American are dangerous for us. The writer is
not telling us to provoke otherness. She is just highlighted “how the idea of this cultural
otherness, intolerance, this religious intolerance is sparked through various discrimination. If the
west thinks that they are superior to our government leaves no other option to believe us to
implicate this belief that they are different, we cannot do much, we have to love the east, we
have to hate the west again and again and on. The theme of otherness not only in story but in
reality we are actually drowning in this otherness concept. In our society racism is developed
strongly which is again the concept of otherness. We judge people on the basis of beauty. The
concept of our features, our things being authentic insignificant and their thing being not been
authentic and insignificant, seeing someone different we usually present ourselves someone
different, people are just crazy with the idea of depriving ourselves different as unique, we do not
want to be the part of something usual, we chose different so that we can have our identity. This
thing for identity is creating all the otherness and the political party and government taking the
advantage from this. The comparison element is there. This is the idea of otherness. Again the
binary division like I’m a man and I’m a woman this is also the idea of other, we actually
exclude ourselves from being human beings, then we do the discrimination in the gender, then
skin colour, then cultural and religious discrimination. Our whole life circulates around this
otherness, our mentality. Ideas, thoughts and every belief which is rooted in us. In the story the
gathering around the radio grew more sombre. Conflict with India circulating and there is tension
in the air. Men would gather around the radio at 8 and stick around after the bulletin and
discussed matters. Intolerance seems to be on the rise because of this war. Luxmi no longer came
to Manna’s house, otherness is building here, her uncle Gopal does not attend the news session at
night because he is scared ( because he lives in Muslim majority area they might hurt, he scared
and didn’t come) there was the news on the radio that some close areas are burnt hatred changing
the world. Hatred is not there into the human beings it is cultivated, it is sparked, it is created by
the government political issues and this is what the story is all about. Another point in the story
which shows the otherness of most of the uncles who did not go to mosque did not show up after
that night. This otherness does not grow among other communities but in the community.
Muslim either a pious Muslim or a secular, religious phantasm rapidly grow. The people who are
more religious get endorsed and the people who are not religious they are condemned, they have
to seriously define their selves and chose the sites whether they are a true Muslims or so-called
Muslim enemies. And the next day the broadcaster announced with the sweet voice that Indian
soldiers had killed Pakistani villagers along the border, Munna noticed that none of his Hindu
and Christine friends came out to play. Because of this, we can smell of discrimination rising, we
can clearly see the world is changing. We also see the comparison between the old and new
Pakistan, the world-changing!

Feministic Perspective in the story

The writer also a supporter of feminism and in the story she highlighted the female bounding that
they face. She portrays all the women in the story, all the women doing the same household
things women do. This is the portrayal of how women do consider, how gender roles are given to
them. Also she highlighted the restriction on girls' education that society neglects the girls and
women rights. We see heartbreaking lines when Muneera has to stop going to school because her
brother needed more education than her, although she was smart. According to Munna she did
not go to school because she was smart, she knew things, but she was never allowed to go to
school. We see this protest is going on ‘Women are as smart as the men are but we see that a bit
of satire here. Writers are making fun. They need more education, they are not well educated,
their minds are not open, and that means that they are not very good human beings. They need
education, they need to be educated to be human. As in the story Muneera mother tell her that
because your older brothers needed education more than her, they would make it up to her by
giving her a grand wedding someday, they will give you a lot of dowries, like a woman is
something which should be given like a bribe as nobody take her without a bribe. This concept of
dowry is something toxic, it devalues women to an unbelievable degree. When you are taking the
lady with you, she has no value until and unless she brings money, furniture, and all the things
with her. This is one of the toxic concepts which prevail in our society. Women have no value,
they do not need education because they are something which nobody will take for free, and this
concept is very devaluing. Another thing Sabeen discus is the restrictions on women, she shows
one aspect of that restriction in the story. As a feminist, she thinks women have the same right as
the men have, they also have the right to live as they want to be. She shows how in society it
looks awkward to people when women go outside at night or lately it seems like it is prohibited
for them to go out. As she represents; Men are allowed to go out every time anywhere they want
to go and at the end of the night. Two things which are important here men are allowed to go out
at night because they have no appropriate time to go outside they can stay outside whenever they
want morning, evening, night and day. Women are only allowed to go outside in the daylight.
Even when they are going into the daylight they are still in darkness. The day is bright and they
are still in darkness, they covered the windows of the car with dupatta Every Saturday, Manna’s
mother and other women from all the neighbourhood would get into the car and tune in to All
India Radio. They would listen to the gossip about the movie stars and sing along with Indian
film songs banned by the strict Islamic regime. A stranger to the neighbourhood would find it
very odd and perhaps a little spooky to see a car bulging at the seams, its window is covered with
dupattas in respect of the veil, shaking from side to side with music drifting out. They all take a
little time to finish all the households and go to listen to the music, to be felt free from
everything. They all are sitting in the car just simply enjoying the music they are not committing
any sins but still, they have to be hidden by the world, like something which should be ashamed
of, like something you are not proud of.

Postcolonialism

Although the British are gone but you love the car they had given you, you love their styles, you
love the radio and everything. And the hatred against there it’s also there, but still people have a
postcolonial mindset.